


Nervous Fantasy

by shaqfu



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7373719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaqfu/pseuds/shaqfu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Team Voltron returns to Earth, a celebration is created in the honor of the paladins. Keith doesn't have a date and Lance has been acting a little different lately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nervous Fantasy

Being back at Earth was a lot more than Keith expected. After leaving the Garrison, he lived in a small isolated shack, and then when he was whisked into space, Team Voltron was pretty much alone with themselves except for when they were on missions. Now back on Earth, everybody wanted to know what it was like to deal with intergalactic travel, and to well, how it felt to save the universe.

 

“Keith, have you found a date for the ball yet,” Shiro curiously asked his comrade.

 

Quickly, Keith snapped out of his thoughts, brought back to the present.

 

“A date?” he asked, slightly bewildered.

 

Shiro nodded in confirmation, “Yes, the celebration ball that the Galaxy Garrison is holding. We all were invited along with a plus one, do you not remember? It’s not mandatory, but it may be nice to have company during all of the boring speeches.”

 

Keith never really had “company” so to say. Even before he dropped out of the Garrison, it just didn’t feel right, more like a hassle. However, in this situation maybe it would be best to find an actual date to make it more tolerable.

 

———

 

“Hey Keith, did you find a date yet for the welcome home ball yet?” Lance asked while they were sitting together in the cafeteria of the Garrison.

 

Keith finished chewing before he responded. “No, I really don’t know that many people besides the rest of the Voltron crew truthfully so I’m a little hard pressed to find somebody. What about you, you’re a popular guy.”

 

Lance preened at the compliment, “Oh totally, a bunch of girls are crawling over me to go.” Lance kept up his act for a few more seconds and then deflated back to normal. “Not really, it’s really hard to connect to people since we’ve gotten back, you know? Like I don’t really look different but I feel different and I don’t know, even if a girl flirts with me, I’m just not interested. It’s like they’ll never get it, you feel me?” Lance almost looked ashamed that he was admitting this, it was so surprising seeing him talk like this. 

 

When they first met, Lance was downright exhausting to Keith. He kept insisting they were rivals despite Keith barely remembering him from the Garrison. Once on the ship, Lance kept trying to always one up Keith and Keith just wanted to work on focusing on staying in shape and continuing to learn about Voltron. However, there was that one night that Lance denied. After Lance woke up and royally kicked Galra butt, the exertion brought him to his knees. Luckily, when Keith caught Lance in his arms, there was a moment when Keith knew his feelings for Lance were changing. Lance’s cheek’s were red, and Keith couldn’t tell if it was from the intimate position or if Lance’s sudden burst of energy left him winded. Either way, the look Lance gave him kept Keith up at night on multiple occasions.

 

Even though Lance denied their “bonding moment” Keith knew Lance remembered it. From that moment on, Keith noticed new things. He would catch a shadow shaped like Lance watching him in the training room, or Lance’s eyes would linger a little too long on the red paladin after they had a successful mission. Keith kept quiet, but he knew Lance was feeling something.

 

_ I might as well ask him if he wants to be my date to the ball. _

 

“What if we went together,” Keith asked, trying to as casual as possible.

 

Lance scrunched up his nose in horror, “No!” His face quickly morphed into regret, “Actually, yes. Just, we’re not a thing, ok? But we can go together.” Lance’s cheeks were already red just at the thought.

 

Keith chuckled, but felt relief. “It’s a date.”

 

———

 

“Lance, I didn’t know you were dating Keith,” Pidge teased. Keith felt Lance bristle besides him. Keith knew if Lance denied it, the two would become the butt of the joke for the rest of the night. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Keith nudged him as a reassurance. “Just play along with it,” Keith whispered.

 

Lance visibly relaxed under Keith’s comment. The red paladin couldn’t help but feel a little bit of joy over Lance’s reaction, like Lance trusted him.

 

The whole entire night felt like a bizarre emotional dance. Keith couldn’t help but feel like maybe something could come from this but he probably was just imagining it.

  
  


“Hey,” Keith whispered to Lance as his teammate was shoving another piece of London broil into his mouth. While still chewing, Lance gave him a questioning grunt.

 

“Do you think people seriously think we’re a thing,” Keith asked.

 

Lance was taken by surprise so much that he began to cough. Wordlessly, Keith handed him an untouched glass of water. Once Lance calmed down, he began to speak. “I know that Pidge’s comment earlier was a joke, but I think people who don’t know us as well may think we’re something.”

 

Keith oddly felt relief that Lance felt the same way. “I don’t think that’s a problem necessarily, as long as we know, it doesn’t really matter what everybody else thinks.” Keith wanted to scream, he needed to stop talking, he was making it worse. Just because he thought Lance was interested in him, didn’t mean he really was.

 

“Yea, it doesn’t really matter,” Lance said with a smile. “I’m done eating, you want to dance?”

 

———

 

“Keith, hold my hand, I’m so tired,” Lance mumbled into Keith’s shoulder, eyes closed. 

 

Lance was, a little disheveled, a little sweaty, and a little drunk. After a night of dancing and real Earth food, a toast was made to the valiant efforts of the Voltron team. Showing his inexperience, Lance tipped back the champagne like a shot, causing it to go straight to his head. Only as the night went on he drank more and more. By the end of the ball, Lance was drunk and Keith had to keep an eye on him, making sure he didn’t get himself into trouble. Keith too, was slightly inebriated but not to the extent that his partner was. He knew when enough was enough, but clearly Lance did not.

 

Keith paused to look at Lance. His eyes were closed and he had dark circles under his eyes. In any other situation, Keith would feel frustrated that he’d have to babysit another person, however, Lance’s helplessness made it endearing.

 

Putting his hand in Lance’s to guide him back to his room at the Garrison, Keith whispered, “Let’s go.”

 

Just by feeling Keith’s hand touch his own, Lance nuzzled his face deeper into Keith’s shoulder. “Thanks,” Lance whispered, leaning up to kiss Keith on the cheek.

 

Keith stopped dead in his tracks. _ Well that proves something. _

 

“Hey,” Keith whispered back, as he picked Lance’s chin off his shoulder. Lance suddenly was alert and looking directly into Keith’s eyes. Lance slowly leaned forward as if to hear Keith better.

 

“To make it more convincing, yea?” Keith said quietly, as his lips met Lance’s.

 

Lance grabbed onto the back of Keith’s suit jacket, while Keith continued to hold Lance’s head in his hands. It was short, all of a few seconds, but they both knew what it meant. Lance was all urgent movements, despite being so tired a few minutes ago, while Keith calmed him down with his lazy pace.

 

Keith quickly pulled away remembering where they were and what their agreement was. “We should go home,” he said, not making eye contact with Lance. 

 

Lance nodded, cheeks red.

 

———

 

The kiss was still fresh in Keith’s mind despite the ball happening a week ago. Lance just looked so surprised once Keith pulled away. Truthfully, Keith felt how Lance looked.

 

The scene kept playing over and over in his head, usually when Keith was left alone to his thoughts but other times it would happen when Lance would smile at him or if he did something impressive in combat training. It was frustrating because Lance wouldn’t mention what happened that night, no matter how much Keith hinted. Maybe if he acknowledged what happened, Keith would be able to get some closure.

 

Before Keith could continue to think, he heard a knock on his door. He padded to the door and opened it to see Lance standing in his doorway.

 

“I have to talk to you,” Lance began, pushing Keith aside to get into his room.

 

“Please, come in,” Keith replied sarcastically.

 

Lance turned around and glared at him. He was clearly having a crisis, but Keith couldn’t help but poke fun at him a little bit.

 

“I keep thinking about last week.”

 

_ Oh. _

 

“Yea, what about it?” Keith asked, suddenly nervous. Though this is what he wanted, it just felt very scary, very quickly.

 

“That kiss,” Lance began. He paused and then swallowed, steadying himself. “It was really good, but I was also drunk and I think I need to tell you how I really feel.”

 

They were both drunk, Keith would admit that but he would also admit that what he did to Lance drunk was what he wanted to do sober as well.

 

Lance continued, “I think I’m into you, like for real. Like not fake dating, but real dating.”

 

“Oh thank God,” Keith mumbled and quickly closed the space between them.

 

This time, Keith was the one to kiss with an urgency. Lance made a startled noise at the sudden contact, but then quickly melted into Keith’s arms. He tangled his hands into Keith’s longer hair to feel like he was closer to the other’s mouth. Keith, was all roaming hands until he settled his hands under Lance’s shirt on the small of his back. They were both holding onto each other as if the other was going to slip through their fingers again.

 

The urgent kissing turned to something slow, as if a realization dawned on them. 

 

_ I have all the time in the world.  _ Keith sighed into Lance’s mouth at the thought.

 

Lance quickly pulled away, “Are you ok,” he asked.

 

Keith nodded, “I just realized, I don’t have to pretend anymore."

**Author's Note:**

> y'all, I just cannot write fake dating.  
> anyway, who knows what I'm gonna write. I was debating some cheesy college au or mermaid or whatever the hell. as per usual, feel free to give me ideas!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vicunad) | [tumblr](http://countvonroo.tumblr.com/) | [commission info](http://countvonroo.tumblr.com/post/149196715942)


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